It was a pivotal moment in what ended up being a loss for Michigan football at Washington, but it was something that gave hope to a floundering part of the Wolverines’ offense.
Jack Tuttle was under center for the first time in 2024, and Michigan needed to convert a third-and-long, and it needed to do so desperately. Tuttle dropped back and found a streaking Amorion Walker downfield, and he reeled in a 22-yard catch, converting to a first down. Walker was fired up nearly to the point as if he had just scored a touchdown.
The next game, at Illinois, the first play from scrimmage, Tuttle attempted to hit a wide-open Walker downfield for a huge chunk play, however, he missed and it was second-and-10.
Still, it’s encouraging that Walker is starting to come on, especially considering how much the wide receiver position has struggled. Position coach Ron Bellamy shared on Wednesday how he’s seen Walker progress and why he’s starting to hit a stride in midseason.
“I think the biggest thing for A-walk was him moving over to defense,” Bellamy said.” When he was on offense, he was a young guy. He was a freshman when I had him on offense. And he moved over to the secondary. Then we didn’t have him in spring ball. So during training camp the first couple weeks of the season was him transitioning back to being an offensive player. And he’s going out there and he looks good out there.”
Now, he’s not exactly blowing the doors off of defensive backfields just yet, but it’s clear that he’s starting to figure things out and get open, even when the ball doesn’t come his way. Thus far, he has three receptions for 33 yards, but you can expect more coming.
But one of the things that Michigan requires of its receivers is blocking considering how run-heavy it tends to be. Bellamy says he’s seeing Walker improve greatly in that area, which allows him to be on the field more, thus not telegraphing the play calls.
“He knows the system for the most part,” Bellamy said. “It’s just a matter of being able to whatever position he’s playing, understanding who he’s blocking, what his responsibilities are.”
Walker will have another opportunity on Saturday when Michigan hosts rival MSU at 7:30 p.m. EDT at The Big House. The Spartans arrive with the No. 31 pass defense in the country. Thus far, the Wolverines have faced harder pass defenses, such as No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Texas, and No. 4 Minnesota. They still have to face No. 12 Ohio State and No. 24 Indiana.